INCUMBENT Minglanilla Mayor Elanito Peña has decided not to seek a third and final term in the May 2022 elections.
The town official will seek the vice mayor’s post next year.
He will be running alongside his partymate in Alayon, Municipal Councilor Rajiv Enad, who is gunning for the mayoralty post.
Peña and Enad filed their certificates of candidacy (COC) for vice mayor and mayor before the local Comission on Elections (Comelec) on Sunday, Oct. 3, 2021.
Enad, in an interview, said his allies in Alayon Party, including Peña, agreed to let him run for a higher position in the 2022 elections.
“I am currently the first councilor and I was initially planning to run for vice mayor, but after a meeting with our barangay captains and Mayor Samsam Gullas (Talisay City), it was agreed I would lead the race,” Enad said.
Peña did not give his reason why he agreed to run for vice mayor in next year’s elections.
Enad said among his plans is to achieve cityhood for Minglanilla, as well as solve the traffic problem.
“Part of my plans is that we want Minglanilla to be a thriving locality that will embrace the characteristic of adopting a work-live-and-play concept, making it competitive,” said Enad.
According to Enad, he started politics in 2002 as the head of the town’s Sangguniang Kabataan (SK).
He served as municipal councilor from 2007 until 2016. He then ran again for a seat in the Municipal Council in 2019 and won.
According to the Comelec, Enad is the second candidate to file his COC for mayor in Cebu Province.
The Province of Cebu has 44 municipalities and six component cities.
First indie
In Mandaue City, information technology specialist and machine shop owner Gepind Requierme aspired to become Mandaue City’s vice mayor after filing his COC on Friday, Oct. 1.
The Comelec Mandaue City posted on its Facebook page that Requierme was the first to file a COC as an independent candidate.
Requierme told Sunstar Cebu that he sought to become a public servant after getting encouragement from his friends involved in politics.
After six years of living in Mandaue City, Requirme said he has understood the community’s needs.
Requierme said he has plans for Mandaue City and he believes that he can contribute a lot in the field of infrastructure as he is a graduating student of Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
Also, he promised to contribute in improving the industrial sector in Mandaue City by bringing in more investors. Aside from this, he said he would promote activities and programs for the youth as he believes that they are the future of the city.
After filing his COC, Requierme said, he would work on his campaign materials for the residents of Mandaue City to know him and his purpose of running for a public office. (ANV, KFD)